Making a new hire is both one of the biggest investments and largest risks you can put into your company: that’s why background screening is so important. When making such a weighty choice – especially if it is a higher level hire, such as a director, you want to have confidence. The wrong one could end up costing you time, money and potentially, even permanently damage your brand’s reputation.

Simple precautions such as checking a candidates work references and education, or criminal record, can save you a world of hurt. Unfortunately, people lie. Here is a brief summary of why background screening is important.

Catching Fraud

It’s common knowledge that people lie on their CV. Credence’s own research corroborates this and provides some startling insights into its prevelance:

Findings from a review of screening by Credence in collaboration with HEDD.

Our research reveals that people routinely embellish their work and educational history, as well as their job titles, skills and responsibilities. Furthermore, a candidate may even be concealing a serious criminal history. It can be all too easy to hire the wrong person. A candidate may have several years of work experience, gained on the basis of falsified qualifications. However, this just means that those companies did not conduct proper background screening. Hiring someone not properly qualified for a position will impact productivity and work quality. This will have a damaging effect on colleagues and clients alike. Ultimately, a background check will save you stress, time and money.

Reputation Protection

It is much easier to lose the trust of a client than to gain it. Performing damage control is costly, as Credit Suisse is now finding out with the recent Archegos scandal. Your employees are the public face of your company – and even a seemingly promising candidate can turn out to be a snake in the grass:

Perhaps this case study alone is enough to demonstrate why background screening is important. However, there are other considerations, such as data protection. GDPR legislation puts significant legal responsibility on your company, and almost half of data breaches come from inside the organisation. With the ubiquity of mobile, internet-connected devices, this threat is greater than ever. Not only does it put you on the wrong side of the law, a data breach is lethal to your brand’s trustworthiness. Thales revealed that 70% of customers would not do business with a company that had leaked data.

With over 25 years of experience catering to clients in all industries in locations all over the world, Credence can put together a screening package that makes sense for your business.